RBS, airlines and bookies

The headline index started the last trading day of the week on the front foot continuing yesterday's positive momentum and tracking overnight gains on Wall Street and in Asia, following the rally in crude prices.

“Royal Bank of Scotland’s shares plunged in early trading following its eighth successive year of losses,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“The loss was principally due to litigation costs, including £600m to cover payment protection insurance mis-selling claims. But disappointingly once these costs are stripped out, underlying profits fell to £4.4bn from £6bn a year ago.

“British Airways’ parent International Consolidated Airways Group reaped the benefits of a drop in fuel costs and saw an immediate gain from its acquisition of Aer Lingus which contributed €622m to turnover since joining the group in mid-August. The group expects further gains this year on continued low fuel costs and improved operational performance.

“Bookmaker William Hill is also optimistic about its prospects for this year despite a 22% drop in operating profits in 2015. This was largely due to the introduction of the point of consumption tax during the year. William Hill is bringing in self-service betting terminals in its shops as part of an omni-channel strategy to turnaround its fortunes.”

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